The US Senate on Monday voted to end the filibuster and advance the National Defense Authorization Act to a final vote.
The bipartisan vote, 76-20, invoked cloture on the bill, bringing it one step closer to final passage, which could still take days.
Still, some lawmakers seek to amend the bill further, which would then require House passage before landing on the President’s desk.
Senator Ted Cruz, who showed no concern about Ukraine funding or other unnecessary provisions, has called for an amendment to restrict military aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), following the deadly crash between a female helicopter pilot and a passenger airplane in January.
The presidential hopeful released a campaign-style video of himself at a Monday press conference, calling for the rewriting of Section 373 of the bill and its replacement with his ROTR Act to add more protections for aviation safety in the bill’s language.
WATCH:
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that Cruz’s amendment to the NDAA is unlikely. “It’d be really hard to undo the [NDAA] now,” he said.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, the House of Representatives passed the Pentagon appropriations bill last week with 18 Republicans voting against and 115 Democrats voting in favor.
Several hardline House conservatives expressed disappointment following the bill’s passage, highlighting provisions that will send nearly $1 billion to Ukraine and continue to fund DEI and transgender policies.
JUST IN: House Passes $900B Military Defense Bill – Hardline Conservatives Decry Liberal Provisions and Ukraine Funding in Bill (VIDEO)
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) explained his “nay” vote in a video statement posted to X, slamming the “war pimps” for pushing this bill.
WATCH:
Burchett: Big vote tonight was the NDAA, National Defense Authorization Act, and it was $900.6 billion. There’s money in there for, of course, Ukraine, $800 million total, and some other things, money in there for recognizing an Indian tribe out of North Carolina— has nothing to do with national security— Syria, money, Iraq. But we just got to quit this stuff. Somebody’s, America’s got to start paying attention.
And the Ukraine stuff’s not even, Trump didn’t even ask for that. You’ve got the war pimps that push for this stuff. And they always will tell you, Oh, it’s, “Burchett, man, they’re gonna spend all that money here buying those missiles.” You know, is that what we’re basing our votes on is they’re going to buy implements to kill other people on? I’m all for getting rid of our enemies, but this is just too much, way too much, and things are just not what they appear. We need to wake up. I voted no. Over 100 Democrats voted to pass this. That ought to tell you right there what this is about. Got some liberal stuff tucked in there, and it’s over 3000 pages. We get it on Sunday, and we’re voting on it today. There’s no way, no way, we will ever know what was in there, and just— anyway, frustrated, we’ll keep fighting. Thank y’all for sending me here.
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